Economy
Atiku Advises National Assembly on Controversial Tax Reform Bills
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s former Vice President and a key member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has called on the National Assembly to revisit and make public the resolutions of the National Economic Council (NEC) on the Tax Reform Bills.
President Bola Tinubu in September transmitted four tax bills to the parliament for approval. These are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
The bills, which have generated controversies since they were forwarded to the legislative arm of government, passed for the second reading at the Senate last week.
In a post on his X handle on Sunday, Mr Atiku said that the National Assembly must be guided appropriately to ensure that in the final analysis, the contents of the Bills align with the interests of most Nigerians.
“I call on the NASS to revisit and make public the resolutions of the National Economic Council, a key stakeholder and an important organ of the state with the constitutional power to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation.
“The NASS must be appropriately guided and ensure that in the final analysis, the contents of the Bills align with the interests of the vast majority of Nigerians,” the post read in part.
Mr Atiku, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, said he had followed the intense public discourse on the Tax Reform Bills with keen interest, noted that Nigerians are united in their call for a fiscal system that promotes justice, fairness, and equity.
He said Nigerians are “loud and clear that the fiscal system we seek to promote must not exacerbate the uneven development of the federating units by enhancing the status of a few states while unduly penalising others.”
He also called on the House of Representatives to be objective and transparent in the conduct of its public hearing on the Tax Reform Bills.
“I call for objectivity and transparency in the conduct of the public hearing being organised by our representatives in the National Assembly. As a concerned stakeholder, I firmly believe that transparency and objectivity are essential for promoting accountability, good governance, and public trust in policy-making.
“The public hearing process must facilitate open and inclusive participation by all stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations, traditional institutions, politicians, public officials, and subject matter experts,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Swiss multinational firm, Holcim Group, has signed an agreement to sell its entire majority shareholding in Lafarge Africa Plc, listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, to a Hong Kong company, Huaxin Cement, as it plans to leave Nigeria.
In a letter signed by the Company Secretary of Lafarge Africa, Mr Adewunmi Alode, the cement maker said Caricement and Associated International Cement Limited, the largest shareholders in Lafarge Africa, reached an agreement with Hainan Huaxin Pan-Africa Investment Company Limited and Huaxin (Hong Kong) International Holdings Limited, part of Huaxin Cement, on the transaction.
According to the statement, upon completion, the Huaxin Cement entities will hold a combined 83.81 per cent shareholding in Lafarge Africa Plc, though the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2025.
Through this transaction, Huaxin Cement will acquire full ownership of Caricement and a second entity, Davis Peak Holdings Limited, which will hold the shares currently held by Associated International Cement Limited (AICL)).
Following completion, Lafarge Africa Plc will remain listed on NGX, and, subject to regulatory approvals, Huaxin Cement intends to launch a mandatory takeover offer in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The new majority owners of the company would likely express an interest in buying out the minority shareholders in 2025 and delisting the company from the NGX.
This development was part of the key issues discussed and concluded at the emergency meeting of the board of Lafarge Africa Plc, held on Saturday, November 30th, 2024.
Lafarge Africa Plc, one of Nigeria’s major cement manufacturing companies, was incorporated on February 24, 1959, and listed as a publicly quoted company on the local stock market on February 17, 1979.
Lafarge serves Nigeria with a wide range of building and construction solutions designed to meet housing and construction needs from small projects like individual home buildings to major construction and infrastructure projects.
The organisation currently has an installed cement production capacity of 10.5 million tons per annum across four plants in Nigeria spread across Sagamu and Ewekoro, Ogun State (South-West), Ashaka, Gombe State (North-East) and Mfamosing, Cross River State (South-South).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.26 per cent in the 48th trading week of the year, with the market capitalisation increasing by N3 billion to close at N1.057 trillion compared with the preceding week’s N1.054 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) growing by 7.72 points to 3,016.66 points, in contrast to Week 47’s 3,008.94 points.
In the five-day trading week, there were four price gainers and six price losers.
The gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc which added 9.9 per cent to close at N24.58 per share versus N22.35 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc expanded by 7.9 per cent to N3.95 per unit against the former value of N3.66 per unit, 11 Plc rose by 7.8 per cent to close at N230.00 per share versus N213.25 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained 4.6 per cent to end at N23.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous week’s N22.00 per unit.
On the flip side, First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc plunged by 11.1 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share compared with the preceding week’s 36 Kobo per share, Food Concepts Plc slid by 9.7 per cent to end at N1.58 per unit versus N1.75 per unit, and UBN Property Plc lost 6.7 per cent to close at N1.67 per share versus N1.79 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc slumped by 5.9 per cent to end the week at N39.51 per unit compared with the previous week’s N42.00 per unit, Capital Bancorp Plc shrank by 2.3 per cent to N2.14 per share from the preceding week’s N2.19 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc went down by 1.6 per cent to N17.39 per unit from N17.68 per unit.
Last week, the total value of transactions increased by 36.1 per cent to N32.9 million from the N24.2 million recorded a week earlier, the volume of trades rose by 1.4 per cent to 6.4 million units from 5.59 million units, and the number of deals decreased by 25.3 per cent to 59 deals from 79 deals.
FrieslandCampina was the most traded stock by value in the week with N16.5 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with N8.3 million, 11 Plc traded N2.3 million, Acorn Petroleum Plc transacted N1.9 million, and UBN Property Plc recorded N1.8 million.
By value, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most traded security with 2.1 million units, First Trust MFB Plc traded 1.4 million units, Acorn Petroleum Plc exchanged 1.3 million units, UBN Property Plc sold 1.1 million units, and FrieslandCampina transacted 0.383 million units.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was an intense battle between the bulls and the bears on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last, but the latter won after the key performance indicators ended in red.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation depreciated in the five-day trading week by 0.33 per cent and 0.31 per cent to 97,506.87 points and N59.107 trillion, respectively.
In the same vein, all other indices finished lower apart from the insurance, AFR Div Yield, Lotus II, industrial goods and the growth indices, which appreciated by 1.23 per cent, 0.84 per cent, 0.99 per cent, 0.62 per cent and 5.59 per cent, respectively, while the ASeM index closed flat.
Data indicated that Customs Street had 32 price gainers in the period under review versus 52 in the previous week, 46 price losers versus 33 a week earlier, and 75 stocks closed flat compared with 68 stocks in the preceding trading week.
Sunu Assurances appreciated by 23.42 per cent to N3.90, Haldane McCall jumped by 21.57 per cent to N6.20, Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 15.87 per cent to sell for 73 Kobo, NASCON increased by 13.09 per cent to N32.40, and Neimeth leapt by 11.22 per cent to N2.18.
Conversely, Austin Laz lost 26.32 per cent to N1.96, John Holt shed 18.91 per cent to trade at N8.92, Lasaco Assurance slipped by 16.47 per cent to N2.13, Eterna tumbled by 16.13 per cent to N20.80, and Deap Capital dwindled by 10.17 per cent to N1.06.
It was observed that the bourse was under selling pressure in the week, with investors transacting 3.194 billion shares worth N54.850 billion in 45,112 deals versus the 1.952 billion shares valued at N35.864 billion exchanged in 48,553 deals in the previous week.
Financial equities led the activity chart with 1.509 billion units sold for N26.904 billion in 20,357 deals, contributing 47.25 per cent and 49.05 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Construction/real estate shares followed with 839.945 million units worth N4.806 billion in 1,399 deals, and energy stocks traded 256.445 million units valued at N13.307 billion in 6,313 deals.
Haldane McCall, FBN Holdings and Japaul accounted for 1.587 billion shares worth N19.797 billion in 3,632 deals, contributing 49.69 per cent and 36.09 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
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